Thanks for strong sales in China and substantial growth in sales of Macan SUV, VW Group’s Porsche has managed to register most successful half year in its corporate history.

Porsche announced that China, which is world’s biggest car market, is also now Porsche’s largest single market with first-half deliveries rising by 18 percent to 35 864 vehicles in the period between January and June. Porsche’s announcement comes as it is drawn deeper into the emissions test scandal that has engulfed the VW group, with German prosecutors saying on Monday that they had launched an investigation into employees of Porsche and a US associate company over a possible involvement in the affair.

A key profit driver for the Volkswagen group, Porsche said on Tuesday that worldwide deliveries climbed by 7 percent to 126 497 vehicles in the six months to the end of June compared with the same period in 2016. While the Macan remained Porsche’s key pillar of growth, the Stuttgart-based carmaker said sales of its new Panamera raced ahead by 54 percent in the first six months of the year. Macan deliveries rose by 11 percent to reach 50 000, the company said.

Macan SUV to go all electric

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has told a German magazine that the next generation of Macan SUV will be offered in battery-electric form only.

Speaking with Manager Magazin last month, Blume also revealed that Porsche is hoping to migrate to electric vehicle (EV) production faster than any other German brand. That would translate to one in every two cars built by Porsche being electrically powered within six years.

The Macan would not be Porsche’s sole EV, according to the report. From 2019, the production version of the Mission E will join the range, providing the company with a rival for Tesla’s Model E.